The Nigeria Customs Service has intercepted $193,000 concealed inside a yoghurt carton at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja.
The service’s spokesperson, Abdullahi Maiwada, confirmed this in a statement on Friday, saying officers of the Federal Capital Territory Command discovered the hidden cash during baggage checks on an inbound passenger.
The Customs Area Controller in charge of the command, Olumide Adebisi, said the suspect, Kamilu Abdullahi Sarina, arrived in Nigeria on Ethiopian Airlines Flight 951 from Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
“Around the early hours of today, we received an intelligence report, which proved very helpful. This afternoon, one Kamilu Abdullahi Sarina, who boarded Ethiopian Airlines from Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, was found concealing a total sum of $193,000 inside a carton of yoghurt,” Adebisi said.
He explained that failing to declare cash above $10,000 upon arrival or departure violates financial laws, including the Anti-Money Laundering Act of 2022 and the Nigeria Customs Service Act of 2023.
“The law clearly states that if a person has funds above $10,000, they must declare it to Customs. Failure to do so could result in the forfeiture of the money, a prison sentence of up to two years, or both,” he added.
Adebisi noted that Customs officers used advanced scanning technology to detect the unusual density in the suspect’s luggage.
“We allowed him to proceed but closely monitored his baggage. Upon further inspection, we discovered that the density was irregular, so we instructed him to return. In his presence, we checked the package and found the undeclared money hidden inside the yoghurt carton,” he said.
The seized cash has been handed over to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission for further investigation and prosecution.
“As required by law, we are handing over the forfeited money to the EFCC for further necessary action,” Adebisi stated.
He warned travelers against violating financial regulations, stressing that strict legal actions would be taken against offenders.
